Now that Stevenson dining has reopened, the next endeavor for University Housing and Dining is creating wireless networks for the residence halls.

This summer Mark Hudson, director of University Housing and Dining, said he decided to set up a wireless network in Thomas Hall while the building was shut down to install a new sprinkler system.

“Everything is in place now,” Hudson said. “We are waiting for the licenses to go online from Cisco, our networking company,”

The new network is a second, separate system, running parallel to the current wired network.

Residents will have the option to continue using the wired ports.

Dan Clark, a senior management information systems major and resident assistant in Thomas Hall, is excited to have a wireless connection.

“It will be great to hook up all of my gaming systems on Eastern’s network without using ethernet,” Clark said.

The process of creating a wireless network for a residence hall takes about a month, between placing ports and running wires throughout the building. The most time-consuming part is funding the projects, Hudson said.

It cost $115,000, which came from student room and board fees.

“The room and board money goes to serving student interests,” Hudson said.

Hudson said his goal is to make living in the residence halls reflect how students live at home, which includes having a wireless Internet connection.

Joe Murrow, a junior English major and Thomas Hall resident, had read about the new wireless network online at the end of last school year.

To many residents, the new network is going to be a pleasant surprise. Dan Clark did not know until he arrived on campus for the fall semester.

“A fellow R.A. spilled the beans,” Clark said.

The main lobby of each residence hall has had wireless Internet for the past few years, and last year Stevenson was the first to have it in the rooms. Up next will be Lincoln and Douglas later this year, making the whole complex wireless.

Next summer, Hudson said he hopes to have the funds to do more. Taylor Hall will be shut down to install new sprinklers, which he thinks would be a good time to set up another wireless network.

The network should be up and running within the week.

Ashley Holstrom can be reached at 581-7942 or at

alholstrom@eiu.edu.